


Crossing the Distance

by FunnyFootsteps



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, He's doing better now tho!, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Sibling Bonding, awkward reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:55:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26400754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunnyFootsteps/pseuds/FunnyFootsteps
Summary: She stepped out of the train and already missed the mellower Adrestian weather. Why couldn't Dimitri have moved to Brigid or Almyra instead? The reason was his boyfriend, of course.Edelgard travels to reconnect with her estranged stepbrother.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Dedue Molinaro
Comments: 10
Kudos: 57





	1. Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been having a hard time writing anything longer than a thousand words so naturally I decided to bully myself into writing a multi chapter thing. This should have two or three chapters total.

Edelgard kept checking her watch over and over again. The train was running a little late, but she should be at the right stop soon. The cart she was sitting on had been empty at least the last hour.

It was only early afternoon, but she was tired. Early morning flight from Enbarr to Fhridiad, then another from Fhirdiad to Duscur and then three hours on the train. She was no stranger to travel, but usually Hubert was there to keep her company. To his credit, he had offered to come along on this trip too as it was just another business trip and not Edelgard attempting to reconnect with her stepbrother after three years of not seeing him in person.

Hubert had been right, as he usually was, this was a terrible idea. Edelgard held tighter onto the handle of her suitcase. Linhard had also suspected this would end in disaster, but he at least had sound amused by it. 

It had been five years since her mother and Dimitri’s father had died in a car accident. Ambassador Blayddyd’s death had, of course, been the biggest news in Fódland for a while. It was no surprise the press had a field day when the adult son he left behind allegedly lost it, ripped his own eye out, and was hospitalized for a year. 

Edelgard was under an assumption Dimitri was doing a lot better now, but still, it was no wonder if he wanted to stay away from all that and lay low.

They had been somewhat close as children but drifted apart later. She had her school and then her job. Different friend circles and all that. She did not feel bad about that until she stood by his hospital bed as the only member of his family. As far as she knew, his uncle never visited. She didn’t stay long either. 

In the capital of Duscur all the street signs had had writing in Fódlanese too, but apparently tourists didn’t stray this far usually. Edelgard double-checked her stepbrother’s text to make sure she was at the right stop. She didn’t want to be stranded at the wrong train station for several hours when it was snowing just because she read the unfamiliar letters wrong. 

She stepped out of the train and already missed the mellower Adrestian weather. Why couldn't Dimitri have moved to Brigid or Almyra instead? The reason was his boyfriend, of course.

Edelgard had met Dedue many times when they were younger but spoken with him maybe once or twice. He was a quiet and stone-faced man with a sort of “please don’t speak to me” aura around him. Unlike Hubert’s carefully constructed scarecrow-like demeanor, she had always suspected that Dedue was simply awkward in groups. Edelgard had never cared enough to find out. And now she was going to spend a whole week in his house. 

Edelgard had assumed that Dimitri would have returned to his old life in Faerghus after a year. She had almost choked on her peach sorbet one evening idly going through her Instagram feed and after the eleventh picture of Ferdinand and his horse (posted by both Hubert and Ferdinand himself), she came across Dimitri’s post about buying a house in a rural town in Duscur. 

The pictures had been cute. Dimitri and Dedue posing in front of a two-story house, Dimitri painting the kitchen door, couple shaky shots of other rooms, and a close up of an Ikea shark plushie on a brand new sofa. It had just been unexpected, that’s all. 

The pictures and his long-winded comment under it going in too much detail about the renovations to be interesting seemed more alive than the Dimitri she last had met.

She had called him the same evening. 

“Perhaps I could visit you sometime,” she had said. 

* * *

She hated leaving anything unresolved and that is how she found herself standing at a foreign train station in a mild snowstorm. Edelgard shielded her eyes from the snow and looked around. Empty parking lot and a kiosk next to the station. Nearly untouched snow covered everything like it would in a corny season’s greetings card. The scenery was beautiful if you liked snow. She didn't.

Dimitri had told her it was a small town and that there really wasn’t much there. He hadn't lied, this truly seemed to be one of those countryside villages that would get deserted as all their youth eventually moved to big cities. Apparently, in some cases, those youth moved back with their boyfriends, though. 

“El, here!” Dimitri called out, waving to get her attention, even if he was the only person around. 

They stood in silence for a while. Perhaps she should have hugged him. Then again she had never been a very huggy person. He had been a touchy child who grew up to a young man with a personal space of a mile. 

“It has been a while,” Dimitri stated the obvious and took the suitcase out of her hands. 

Dimitri was tightly bundled up in a fur coat and a deep green patterned scarf Edelgard had seen often on Dedue in photos. She might have gone through various social media accounts trying to gather information about exactly how her stepbrother was doing before seeing him in person. It wasn't quite stalking, and it had been Hubert’s idea anyway. He was far too talented in that sort of thing. 

They exchanged more empty pleasantries and left the train station. Dimitri’s new house was too far away to walk to and the buses only ran a couple of times a day. The plan was to wait in a cafe in town and wait to Dedue pick them up after his work is finished for the day.

“I, uh, don’t drive much anymore,” Dimitri gestured vaguely at his face and Edelgard wasn’t sure if he meant his eye or just his head in general. 

The cafe was small and cozy and they were the only customers present. Big windows framed two walls. The barista had long white hair just like Edelgard did, but unlike her, the barista probably didn't need to dye the roots every other week. Edelgard took off her gloves and sent Hubert a quick message just so he’d know she arrived safely. As usual, he responded within a minute.

Dimitri orders for both of them, stammering over the Duscur words but apparently getting his point across. The barista knew him by name, and why wouldn’t she, it is a small town after all and he does stick out like a sore (and very pale) thumb. 

Dimitri placed Edelgard’s suitcase next to the table and hung his coat and scarf on the back of the chair and Edelgard finally got a good look at him. He had been rail thin when they had last met. Living with a professional chef had treated him well. 

“I like your shirt,” Edelgard said just to break the silence, immediately regretting the lame conversation starter. 

“Thank you,” Dimitri said, tugging the sleeve of his blue wool sweater with little lions on it, “Dedue made it for me.”

“He knits?”

“And crochets,” Dimitri adds with a silly amount of fondness in his voice that is enough to make Edelgard chuckle a little. 

The conversation started to roll easier. The coffee was delicious. Edelgard talked about the topics she found most comfortable topics to discuss: work, Hubert, and Hubert at work. Perhaps not the most interesting topics but Dimitri listened attentively. He had not been a good listener when they last had talked in person. 

“You know, Sylvain always said Hubert was a vampire,” he said between sips of his plain black coffee. 

“Can't really blame him for that. Are you still in contact with Sylvain?” Edelgard asked.

“Yes. He and Ingrid call from time to time. There has been talk of the three of us meeting in person too but so far we haven't been able to agree on when.”

Three of us, huh. One name was obviously left out, but Edelgard didn't press. She wondered if he noticed how she was trying to skirt around the possibly uncomfortable topics. 

They didn't really have mutual friends, but their friend circles overlap enough for a little bit of gossip to be interesting. Sylvain and Ingrid both had attended Dorothea’s concert. Annette was still friends with Caspar and Linhardt. Ashe had visited Petra in Brigid. 

“Ashe seems to travel a lot these days. He also visited us here late last month. The renovations had only started, so we all stayed at Dedue’s parents.”

“Oh, I was not aware you and Ashe were that close,” Edelgard said.

“He is Dedue’s best friend,” Dimitri clarified.

Like summoned by his name, Dedue appeared outside the cafe window. He looked somehow even taller than she remembered. Dimitri waved excitedly at him and was in return given a small smile and a nod. 

“Time to go,” Dimitri said and started gathering his things, almost knocking over his empty coffee cup.


	2. Reconnecting

The house was cute. 

It was a blue fair-sized two-story house built of wood. There was a small greenhouse in the garden behind the house. It had been half an hour’s drive out of the town into the forest. Edelgard wondered how much land Dimitri and Dedue had purchased with the house. 

Now Edelgard was sitting on a dark green sofa in the spacious living room with a hot cup of chamomile tea in front of her. The curtains on the window matched the tablecloth. Dimitri and Dedue had acquired enough houseplants to turn their living room into a small jungle. All of the plants seemed exceptionally well taken care of too. There was a wall calendar next to a big Fiddle Leaf Fig plant.

She had gotten a full tour earlier, and her suitcase was neatly put away in the closet of the guest room on the second floor. 

Her own condo had been furnished by a professional interior designer. Interior designer that Hubert had hired for her. Technically taking care of Edelgard’s personal business wasn't what he was paid for, but he didn't seem to mind. She rarely spent time home, so a minimalist approach had worked well for her. 

Edelgard personally preferred simple yet elegant modern design, but Dimitri and Dedue seemed to like second hand stored and hand-me-down furniture. Edelgard wondered why, since with his inheritance, Dimitri could have bought the whole town and then some, if he so wished. 

Apparently, he did not, since he seemed very content sitting on an armchair in the middle of his stylishly mismatching furniture. Edelgard set her teacup on the sofa table between a flower vase and a Duscur language textbook. 

Dimitri valiantly tried to keep the conversation going. 

Dedue wasn't much help keeping the conversation alive. He was working on a cross-stitch project from his seat next to Dimitri with reading glasses and a serious expression on his face.

“And tomorrow, we’ll have dinner with Dedue’s family,” Dimitri said.

“If that is alright with you,” Dedue added without lifting his gaze. 

“Of course,” Edelgard said. 

The conversation was going absolutely nowhere. Eventually, Dedue decided to help Dimitri out and asked if he’d like to help with the dinner. 

“Make yourself at home,” Dimitri told Edelgard and followed Dedue to the kitchen.  
With the men out of the way, Edelgard moved to get a better look on the calendar hanging on the wall. There was a postcard from Brigid attached to it with a paperclip. The calendar had pictures of beautiful landscapes and what she assumed were inspirational quotes in Duscur language. How cheesy. Dimitri had a lot of doctors’ appointments and little anything else marked on it. 

* * *

She was a little jet-lagged the next morning, and Dimitri looked just as if not more tired. Edelgard wasn't sure if her presence was stressing him out, or if it was unrelated. They ate breakfast in silence, Dedue had already left for work. 

Edelgard spent the afternoon working remotely on her laptop. Technically she wasn't supposed to work during this holiday, but Hubert didn't have to know when exactly she had completed these tasks. He would know, of course, but he couldn't say anything, and that was what counted. 

Dimitri had said he needed to make a call, and the calendar in the living room had snitched on him and told Edelgard it was an online therapy appointment. The house was big enough so Edelgard couldn't hear Dimitri talking. She was not sure if she wanted to hear or not. Edelgard took another sip from her second cup of coffee today and tried to focus on the document in front of her.

She got a surprising amount of work done. A part she had been struggling with before was no match to her in Dimitri’s small guest room. Perhaps she should take a vacation more often. She could even persuade Hubert to go with her. Somewhere warm. She got up and stretched for a bit. 

Before leaving for dinner, Dimitri asked her help for shoveling the snow from the front yard. Shoveling snow was a work out for a day or two, yet the weather was determined to have them repeat it in an hour or two.

Dimitri checked the time from his absurdly cracked phone screen. They still had some time before Dedue was due to pick them up, but not enough that it would make sense to go back inside. It was a cold day, as most winter days in Duscur were, but both of them were warm from physical work. 

“Do you remember how we used to build snow castles, El?” Dimitri asked.

“Of course. You always were the king of the snow castle with all your little knights with stick swords”. 

“Stick lances mostly, thank you very much. However, we do not have the time for a full castle, but a snowman would do.”

They started building a snowman next to the porch. The snowman turned out a little lopsided and taller than Edelgard. She could not find any pebbles for the facial features, so she simply poked some holes on the snowman’s face for eyes and mouth. 

Dimitri wrapped his scarf around the snowman’s neck. Suddenly Edelgard remembered something else they used to do as children. She threw a snowball at him. It hit him right in the face, and too late, Edelgard realized it was on his blind side. 

“That’s not fair,” he said as he was still twelve. 

She threw another snowball at him. Dimitri dodged this one with ease and duck behind the snowman for cover. He threw several snowballs at her in retaliation, but all of them hit the porch instead. 

When Dedue arrived, the step-siblings had resorted to trying to push each other in the snowbank.

“Ready to go?” He asked. 

“Yes!” Dimitri lifted Edelgard back on her feet.

Dedue’s family lived in the center of the town. His father was a goldsmith, a traditional one apparently. The elegant golden jewelry the whole Molinaro family seemed to be wearing all the time was his handwork. His workshop was adjacent to their house. 

While Dedue was the tallest one, his whole family was very, very tall. His little sister was the shortest one in the family, still was only a little shorter than Dimitri. Pretty much everyone always was taller than Edelgard, and she was used to Hubert towering over her. Still, she felt very, very small with the Molinaros all but bending down to talk to her. 

Dedue’s parents didn't speak much Fodlanese but seemed content on keeping handing foods and drinks to Edelgard whenever her hands were empty. They were talking with Dimitri and Dedue about something that either had to do with food or renovations. Edelgard couldn't tell. 

Family dinners at Blaiddyd manor had always been somewhat formal. That experience had prepared Edelgard for business dinners but had left her woefully awkward houseguest. Dedue’s sisters were both very talkative and outwardly friendly. Edelgard hadn't expected that. They were also very, very pretty. 

“So, are you going to do any sightseeing?” Ada, the older sister, asked.

“Not that there is much here”, her sister Nadia added.

“Oh, don't say that.”

“It is true,” Nadia insisted.

“Yes, but you don't need to say that.”

Edelgard laughed. “I don't know what Dimitri has planned for us.”

“If you are letting Dimitri decide, then you are just going to stay home all week,” Ada said with a smirk, “he’s just like our brother… what's the word?”

“Boring”

“I was thinking of ‘homebody’ but yes. That.” 

“Dedue is not boring,” Dimitri joined the discussion. 

“And you are?” Edelgard couldn't help but tease her stepbrother

“If the tabloids are to be believed, I have been interesting enough for one lifetime.”

Ada patted Dimitri on the shoulder. Edelgard realized Dedue’s sisters had been there for Dimitri more when she wasn't. 

“Fair enough,” Edelgard agreed.

Dedue returned to the room, balancing three drinks and a bowl of chips on his arms. 

“Here you go,” he says and carefully handed the first drink to Dimitri. 

“Thank you, my love,” Dimitri said.

The sisters giggled. 

* * *

Dimitri took her skiing early the next morning. Perhaps he wanted to prove he actually did things besides sitting at home. Perhaps the last afternoon’s snowball fight had made him feel nostalgic. The nostalgia aspect was working on Edelgard at least. 

Skiing reminded Edelgard of her first winter in Faerghus, which she had spend trying to keep up with Dimitri and his incredibly athletically inclined friends with various winter sports. How she had missed Hubert and Constance, who both found their enjoyment from the library rather than from snow-covered hills or frozen lakes. In the end, her competitive nature had taken control, and she had fully thrown herself into whatever activity Dimitri’s friends had come up with. 

The skis he handed Edelgard now were pastel pink and belonged to a neighbor’s daughter.  
His neighbors were good people in general and they had been more than happy to do little favors such as lending him things ever since they discovered how good Dimitri was at pushing cars stuck in the snow back to the road. 

“I am just glad to be of some use,” he explained. 

Edelgard had not skied in years but she was not going to be left behind. Whatever she lacked in practice, she made up with sheer willpower. She kept up with Dimitri as he descended into the forest.

After an hour or so they reached a top of a small hill. Cold, ice and snow made the air fresh. Sun rose late this far into the winter. 

Dimitri unfastened his skis, sat on the snowy ground and dug a thermos bottle from his blue backpack. He offered Edelgard coffee from a paper cup as she sat next to him. 

“You know, El,” Dimitri said, sipping his coffee, “I still can't believe you actually came to visit me. I mean, you never even called before.”

He didn't seem angry or upset but all the same, it stung. No point looking back, however. She was here now and it must’ve counted for something. 

“You could have told me not to come,” she said.

Dimitri shook his head, his bangs falling out from his beanie. 

“I am glad you came,” Dimitri said, smiling at his coffee. 

“So am I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be longer, but I think I have said all I wanted here. I hope you liked it!


End file.
